Thai Music - Genres and History

Published: 2nd July 2009Author: Know Phuket

It would be very easy for visitors to Thailand to get the impression that
Thailand does not have its own music scene. The tourist bars have bands playing
covers of western pop. The discos are blaring out house and hip-hop. The bars
blast out rock classics. Even the few bands that are playing Thai music are
only doing covers of classic old Thai songs. This causes many musical purists
to bemoan their lack of creativity. Why aren't they writing and playing their
own stuff? Why aren't they creating their own musical styles?

There are many visitors to Thailand who believe that the Thai music scene
is just a rip-off of western music. In reality, nothing could be further from
the truth. The Thais love music and Thailand has a huge and thriving music
scene. They have their own distinct music styles and a rich musical heritage.
There is a strong western influence to some of their music but there are also
distinct branches of musical styles that are purely Thai.

Why don't western visitors get to hear much of this side of the Thai music
scene? The problem is the Thais are giving the tourists what they think the
tourists want to hear. They think the tourists want music from their own countries.
Perhaps they are right, although I suspect most tourists would like to hear
a bit more of Thai music culture as well.

In this article, we will discuss the main genres of Thai music. In our next
article, we will take a more specific look at some of the big names in Thai
music and their songs. Then finally, we will take a look at the live music
scene in Phuket.

There are many sub-genres, offshoots and variations of the following but
these are wide definitions of the main Thai music genres.

Thai Classical Music

Thai classical music can be traced all the way back to the royal courts of
more than 800 years ago. The names of the composers have long been lost in
history. The performers have passed the ancient classical pieces down from
generation to generation.

The
most distinctive instrument of Thai classical music is the Thai Xylophone
(Ranaht). The bars are made from hardwood or bamboo and strung in a gentle
arc on two cords. The base has the curved shape of a Thai river boat. The
ancient instruments were beautifully ornate creations. The Thai xylophone
has a light melodic resonance that would generally be the centrepiece of Thai
classical music.

The rest of the classical Thai orchestra would include a number of percussion
instruments such as drums, cymbals and chimes. Some genres of Thai classical
music also used woodwind and string instruments. The percussion instruments
provide a repeating, reverberating beat while the xylophone or wind instruments
create the melody.

Tourists are most likely to hear Thai classical music at shows with renditions
of Thai classical dancing.

Luke Toong

The more modern genres of Thai music could probably be said to have started
with Luke Toong. You may see this written Luk Thung, Look Thoong or other
variations of spelling. Luke is Thai for children and Toong means field so
it is 'children of the field'.

Luke Toong developed in the mid 20th century. It is a form of folk music.
The songs have a melancholy, soulful lilt. The lyrics tell of the hardships
of rural Thai life and as such they quickly struck a chord with a large swathe
of the Thai population. The tunes are perhaps a little difficult for westerners
to appreciate because, much like country music, the songs are very much about
the words and telling a story. Still the soulful, almost wailing notes can
strike a chord.

Perhaps the biggest star of Luke Thung is Pumpuang Duangjian.

Luke Rung

Just a quick mention for Luke Rung. Thailand has a clear social division
between the wealthy urban middle and upper classes and the majority of the
rest of the population from poor rural backgrounds. Luke Rung (children of
the city) is romantic music from urban Thailand. The themes of the songs are
all romance and life is good. It is a world away from the pain and suffering
of Luke Toong. Luke Rung has a very limited fan base.

Mor Lam

Mor Lam is a much older form of folk music and forms of it have been played
around Isaan for centuries. The music originates from the northeastern Issan
region of Thailand and it has a very strong Laos influence. 'Mor' is Thai
for doctor and 'Lam' is a Laos word for singer. It roughly translates as 'Doctor
Singer' or 'Expert Singer'.

Mor
Lam is similar to Luke Toong in that its lyrics are all about the lives and
hardships of the rural poor. The music has distinctive snappy, rhythmic vocals
and a funky beat. The backing music is often provided by the Laos mouth pipe
organ (khaen) made from bamboo tubes.

Good Morlam music is fast-paced, driven by the khaen, bass, organs and drums.
Morlam singers are accompanied by dancers dressed in traditional Thai costume.

One of the best-known performers of Mor Lam and a huge star in Thailand
is Jintara Poonlarp.

Peua Cheewit

By the late 1960s, early 1970s, western rock and pop was becoming increasingly
popular in Thailand. Thai artists were influenced by the input and eventually
evolved their own offshoot genre. It was a blend of rock and country that
eventually took the name 'peua cheewit' -- 'for life' or 'songs for life'.

The music had a strong rock influence with guitar riffs and strong drum beats
but the lyrics were still about life and the injustices of Thai society.

There was a strong element of protest in the lyrics and the early Peua Cheewit
bands were at the forefront of the movement for democracy. In 1976 the ruling
regime cracked down hard and Peua Cheewit music was driven underground. This
only served to give the music a rebellious edge and even more credibility
among the general population.

As Thailand entered the eighties, it was developing into a more democratic
and open society and Peua Cheewit also re-emerged into the mainstream scene.
The lyrics changed to wider political issues and more general subjects of
life.

Carabao became a hugely popular band with lyrics that were strongly nationalistic
and protectionist. Carabao are still going strong today and draw big crowds.
Other Peua Cheewit artists such as Pongsit Kamphee continued to find success
but as Thailand entered the late nineties, peua cheewit was losing popularity
to the more modern, western influenced rock and pop bands.

Thai Pop

Thailand
finally, fully embraced the world of western style commercialised pop, in
the mid-nineties. The western influence which had first found an Asian home
in Japan and South Korea, was now welcomed by Thai youth. First they embraced
pretty boy and girl bands from Japan and Korea, while also giving wider recognition
to western superstars such as Michael Jackson and Britney Spears.

It was not long before Thailand was producing its own pop stars. Tata Young
and Bird Macintyre (both have mixed Thai-western parentage) became huge stars,
singing mainstream pop music. Soon Thai music companies started forming their
own pretty boy and girl bands such as Girly Berry. And of course, a few soap
stars also wanted to get in on the act.

Thai Rock

At the same time that western style pop was influencing a generation of
Thai popsters, British Britpop was also spawning a whole new generation of
Thai rock bands. Talented, energetic rock bands emerged performing their own
version of Thai rock. Bands such as Loso, Modern Dog, Bodyslam, Clash and
Big Ass roared into the charts, taking up the mantle left by peua cheewit.

You can find examples of many of the above performers work on YouTube.

In our next article about the Thai music scene, we will take a more detailed
look at some of the big name Thai stars and a few of the classic Thai songs.